Robert Warren, 56, his wife, Viki Warren, 40, of Smith Cove Road in Candler each pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court in Asheville on July 15 and are awaiting sentencing.

From the basement of a modest farmhouse, Robert and Viki Warren ran a crop insurance chop-shop: liquid eraser bottles, copy machines, telltale PVC pipes, and tens of thousands of forged documents.

Farmers Robert and Viki Warren of Candler are charged with lying to insurers about planting and harvest dates and production from their R&V Warren Farms in Buncombe and Henderson counties ...